


Skullcrusher Mountain

by hhertzof



Category: Skullcrusher Mountain (Song), Wizards and Warriors
Genre: Gen, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 22:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhertzof/pseuds/hhertzof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many dangers on Skullcrusher Mountain. Will our heroes survive the journey to find the magical scarlet pimpernel, or will Dirk Blackpool finally win?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lys/gifts).



"I have bad news." Edwin Baaldorf studied the two young men who stood before him. The hope of his kingdom and all of Camerand lay on their shoulders too often. Thankfully, so far they had proved themselves up to the task. "A spell has been cast upon the kingdom's wheat fields, slowly turning them to dust."

Traquill took up the tale, "The only way to reverse the spell involves the flower called the scarlet pimpernel."

Erik grinned at that. "Then why do you need us? Isn't there some in the royal gardens?"

"Oh, but not ordinary scarlet pimpernels. The flower absorbs magic, but the ones in Princess Ariel's gardens have absorbed very little magic. You must journey to Skullcrusher Mountain-"

"In Karteia?" Marko broke in. "I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a war on. Can't you get it anywhere closer?"

"Long, long ago," Traquill intoned in his best storytelling voice, "an evil wizard lived at the top of Skullcrusher Mountain. One of the most powerful wizards of all time. When he died, all of that magic was absorbed into the land. The pimpernels that grow there are truly magical objects in their own right. But you must be wary. The magic on the mountain prevents anyone from approaching unless they start at the base. You'll have to take the long way up."

"We'll do it," Erik said promptly.

King Baaldorf looked relieved. "Travel safe. And beware. The wizard cast many spells and conjured many monsters. There will be traps and hidden dangers."

"Aren't there always?" Marko looked a little exasperated, but bowed along with Erik and followed him out of the throne room, rolling his eyes when he knew his friend couldn't see him. "Here we go again."

None of them noticed the Princess Ariel, who hadn't _meant_ to eavesdrop. Picking flowers was so much more interesting than this stupid war and if Erik was going off to pick flowers, she didn't see any harm in tagging along. Completely forgetting what she had planned to ask her father for this time, she ordered Cassandra to see that Pumpkin was saddled. She wasn't about to be left behind.

~~~~

Dirk Blackpool buffed his leather armor with his gauntlet and then examined the knuckles rather than looking at his wizard. "I presume there is a reason for this."

"Your majesty." Vector faked a deference he didn't feel, fooling neither of them. "I warned you that the spell was unstable. You should not have cast it so close to the border. Once the wind shifted, it was inevitable that the spell would drift into Karteia. I fail to see why you are so upset. Do you actually care whether the peasants starve?"

"If they starve, I can't kill them myself. Much less fun." Blackpool strode up and down the room. "There is a counterspell, I presume."

"I do not have the strength to cast it on my own, and you do not have the power or the knowledge." Vector glared at the other man and waited for the explosion.

"You don't have the strength? _You don't have the strength?_" Dirk ranted. "That's always your excuse, isn't it? Next you'll be saying that if you had your monocle back you could cast the counterspell easily. Well, forget it." Dirk stopped pacing to glare at Vector. "There's always proven to be another way in the past."

"There is, my lord." Vector smiled ingratiatingly.

"And as usual it will involve my placing myself in harm's way. _Again!_ This is growing tedious, Vector, but never doubt that your simplistic plans to kill me indirectly will continue to fail. And it's not as though you can go for a direct kill."

"Wizards cannot kill," Vector said dryly. "You need the flower called the scarlet pimpernel. Not the ordinary kind, but the one that grows in the ruins of Skullcrusher Tower, from seeds soaked in magic. Only then will you have the power to reverse the spell." Dangling power in front of Dirk was always an effective maneuver.

"As you continually remind me. Trust me, if you could kill, I'd be watching my back that much more closely." Prince Blackpool turned to leave, but then turned back and added. "Never doubt that I will return this time as well. You'll have to try harder if you truly wish me dead." He strode out of the room leaving Vector staring at his back.

"I shall do as you suggest, my lord," Vector lied.

~~~~

Erik and Marko reached the border just as the sun was rising. The sun glinted off Erik's hair and doublet, and Marko pulled Ben up and said, "Yeah, it's blinding me too. How about if we ride on his other side?" The horse made a sound that might have been agreement, and stopped, long enough for Southwind to pass, then trotted around so that Erik was between them and the sun. The dry brush crunched under the horses' hooves; it had not rained here in many days.

The Prince watched in amusement. "We should be at the border by sundown. Another day's ride to Skullcrusher Mountain and a third to climb to the summit." He lifted a gloved hand to point to the mountain in question. "At least Blackpool's forces are thin along this part of the border. He's too busy attacking in the West."

"I don't suppose we could stop for breakfast," Marko said. He started to say something else but something caught the corner of his eye. Grabbing Southwind's reins, he yanked both horses over to the left. "Duck."

Erik obeyed without question, as flaming arrows passed through the space where he had been just a minute ago. The two of them looked at each other and as one turned off into the forest surrounding the path. More arrows flew as they scanned the perimeter for the archers.

"There," Marko said, pointing towards the East. There was a row of archers blocking the path. Behind them, the arrows had landed on dry brush and started a fire that was threatening to burn out of control.

Before they could make a move, a familiar scream rent the air, and Pumpkin bolted past, with Ariel barely clinging to the unicorn's back. Erik instinctively grabbed for the reins. Whether it was Erik's quick action or Marko's abilities with animals, Pumpkin stopped, though she continued to pace restlessly.

After making sure Ariel was safely in the saddle, Erik passed the reins to Marko. "Can you keep her in line? We're going to have to make a run for it."

Marko nodded, and spoke to Pumpkin for a moment. "She says Ariel's scream spooked her, and she'll follow Ben's lead."

Ariel looked affronted, and she might have said something, but she didn't have a chance.

"Go!" Erik set Southwind off at a canter through the trees, hoping that they'd be able to find a path through.

Marko followed suit, checking occasionally to make sure Pumpkin was following behind. The unicorn had been given strict instructions to keep Ariel in the saddle. They dodged trees and low hanging branches, but thankfully there was not much ground cover beneath the tall pine trees. The trees were wide-spread enough to allow their horses through, though they slowed to a trot when the pine needles carpeting the forest floor proved slippery underhoof. By weaving through the forest, they were able to circle away from the archers and rejoin the path further on.

~~~~

Dirk stared as the witch, Bethel, entered the room. Perhaps it was her head-turning beauty, perhaps her general lack of all but the minimum clothing necessary. Either way, she was a useful ally against Vector, and a desirable possession in her own right.

"Have you let Vector mislead you again?" she asked, with a sultry voice that caused the hairs on his arms to stand on end.

Dirk glared at her. The witch had her own game, but usually she, at least, made some pretense of bowing to his will. "Nothing I cannot handle." Not that he would ever admit that he couldn't handle something. It would do no good to show weakness, especially before these two. "I must make a brief journey to Skullcrusher Mountain."

"Vector will be the death of you yet. One of these days you will learn not to trust his words where magic is concerned. He will stop at nothing to get his monocle back," Bethel reached up leisurely and leaned against him, both hands on his shoulder, "As would I, were I in his position."

A lesser man might have been distracted, having Bethel this close, but Dirk had never been one to allow anything to distract him from his goals. "I've survived his previous traps, and I will survive this one. I have been up the Mountain before and survived. Why should this time be any different?"

"You will not have Vector to aid you this time," Bethel pointed out, "and I have duties elsewhere. The Council."

"Always the Council. I must add it to my list of institutions to abolish when I rule all of Camerand." Finally he shifted, allowing Bethel's hands to fall to her sides.

Bethel smirked. "I suspect you will find that much more difficult than you ever dreamed."

"Perhaps, but I shall consider it a challenge." Dirk glanced out the window. "Any advice before I go?"

"Beware the ponmons. They may look cute, but they are deadly. Keep to the path. You will have to start from the base of the mountain, it is guarded against magic. Do not be misled by the rainbow." Bethel gave him a slow smile and sauntered out of the room.

With barely a glance in her direction, Dirk briskly headed out through the other door towards the stables, calling for someone to saddle his horse. He would have to ride swiftly. No doubt Erik and Marko were already on their way.

~~~~

Despite Ariel's complaints about being woken before breakfast, Erik, Marko and Ariel reached the base of the mountain early the next day. There had been no question of sending Ariel back; time was of the essence.

There was only one known safe path leading up and before it reached the first ridge it became barely visible. They would need a guide. Accordingly they stopped at the local tavern for lunch and to get the lay of the land.

To Marko's relief, they stayed long enough to eat. With Erik you never knew. As a result, he was in a better mood when they started the trek up the mountain, accompanied by the guide, Castle the Storyteller and his daughter, Lexis. They lived up on the first ridge, and had come down to trade goods in town, or that was what they claimed. Castle assured them that he could guide them to the top, once he left his daughter with his aged mother on the ridge.

The ride started out in an uneventful fashion, Lexis prodding her father along, in a way that Marko recognized. She was clearly the "responsible" one of the pair. She never degenerated into nagging, but she did use some of the techniques that Erik had perfected in order to deal with his brother, Justin.

Erik raised an eyebrow at Marko then pulled back to ride with Castle, leaving Lexis riding alongside Marko and Ariel.

"Justin warned me you were coming," Castle murmured.

Erik grinned. He didn't know how Justin did it, but he had eyes and ears throughout Camerand. The ne'er-do-well image might be true to a point, but that didn't keep him from being an asset to the war effort. "He told me someone would be waiting. So you know my brother?"

"He won quite a bit of money from me before the war," Castle smiled at the memory, "And then I won it back. He still owes me over 50 kolnas."

"So he tells me you've got a cell of freedom fighters causing Dirk quite a bit of misery here in the East." Erik had been impressed with some of the things this group had accomplished.

"He's spread himself too thin. And he's too busy with the war to deal with minor rebellions on the home front, especially this far away from the capital." Castle shrugged. "I mostly pass information and sow subversion with my stories and songs. Becket and the others are the fighters."

"Subversion is important too. Anything you can do to divide Dirk's forces helps."

"Why is it so cold here? And the dust is awful. Look at how it's getting on my dress. Dirk Blackpool should really do something about these roads." Ariel continued on in the same vein, leaving Marko and Lexis to roll their eyes at each other behind her back.

~~~~

They had been riding for about an hour as the path slowly curved up the side of the mountain. Rounding a bend they found Dirk casually leaning against the rock, cleaning his nails with a long dagger.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Erik asked with a combination of shock and threat.

"The same thing you are, I assume. Hunting the power at the top of the mountain." Dirk smirked. He knew that Erik was too much of a do-gooder to be seeking power for power's sake. But here, at least was a convenient patsy. You couldn't find anyone purer of heart than Erik Greystone. "Perhaps we should work together."

Erik looked at his old schoolmate suspiciously. "What are you up to, Dirk?"

"Why would I be up to something?" Dirk asked unconvincingly.

"You always are."

"Can't I long for the companionship of an equal? Someone to lighten the load and entertain me along the way? Someone to use as a shield from the monsters on the mountain?" He didn't bother to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

"The last I might believe." Erik and Marko exchanged knowing looks and moved off to one side.

"He'll betray us the first chance he gets."

"We know that, and we'll be on our guard, but I think, while we're on the mountain, I'd rather have him where I can see him. Besides, he will help us, as long as it suits his purposes."

"It's not knowing when it won't suit his purposes that worries me." But Marko had to admit that in the past, when they had been forced into an alliance with Dirk, it had turned out alright in the long run. Besides there was only one path up the mountain, and neither of them wanted him to get there first. Traveling together might be the only way to keep him under control, at least for the moment.

But before they could make a decision, they heard trotting in the distance, rapidly growing nearer. Castle and his daughter exchanged looks of fear.

"Cavalry? Erik you shouldn't have. That might be considered an act of war," Dirk started.

"If we weren't already at war," Marko finished before turning to Castle, "I wouldn't think horsemen would be able to get that sort of speed on this mountain." Between the heavy forest to one side and the high cliff to the other, this was not an unreasonable assumption.

"Ponmons," Lexis said, looking warily up the cliff. "They were created by the wizard whose ruined castle lies at the top of Skullcrusher Mountain. Half monkey, half pony, all evil."

"They're the least deadly of his creatures, but their bites are poisonous, and they are incredibly vicious. We need to go now." Castle hurried the group up the mountain as fast as he could. Even Dirk cast a worried glance up the cliff where they could see furry brown forms starting to peer over the ledge.

The group spurred their horses on, but the ground was rocky and uneven and Dirk was the only one among them who would risk more than a trot on the uneven ground. Marko spoke to the horses and that seemed to encourage them, but the ponmons were faster. They were scrambling down the cliff-face at an unexpected speed, despite their hooves.


	2. Act 2

Marko suddenly pulled Ben to a stop, and it was clear he was trying to talk to the ponmons. "You don't want to attack us. We're tough and won't taste very good." He continued on in this vein, pausing sometimes as if he was listening to a reply. The one-sided conversation took several minutes, but to everyone's surprise they slowly retreated back down the cliff.

"Good job, Marko." Erik gave him a slap on the back that would have thrown a lesser man off his saddle. He had never been sure how much of Marko's skill involved speech and how much was a form of telepathy, but once again it had come through for them.

Marko frowned at him. "I was able to persuade them to give us a little space, but I can't guarantee that they'll stay away. We'd best continue up the mountain."

This plan was quickly adopted by the company, and they followed the twisting track which seemed designed to keep travelers on their toes.

The path branched off in places that led along inviting paths or dark ones, but Castle unerringly chose one after another. Erik started to wonder if bringing Dirk along had been a good idea. Both Castle and his daughter were wary of the newcomer, and Erik didn't blame them. With Justin funneling in supplies to aid in their freedom fighting activities, they were in danger should their prince even suspect that they were causing trouble in the Eastern Mountains.

The forest slowly fell away, replaced by sharp, unforgiving rock, which the company gave wary glances to. Falling here would mean a swift and painful death. Hoping that Dirk would not decide that pushing him off the mountain would solve his problems, Erik rode on, one eye on their guides and one eye on Dirk.

Perhaps that's why he didn't notice the archers before they suddenly appeared, as if out of nowhere, aiming deadly-looking crossbows at the company.

"What are you doing here?" The speaker was female, though dressed in men's garb and Marko couldn't help comparing her to Princess Ariel, and deciding he preferred the former. Ariel's prissy prettiness had never sat well with him.

But before they could answer, Castle barked out, "Stand down, don't you recognize our Prince?"

The archers dutifully lowered their bows, and bowed or curtsied as if the Prince came this way for a stroll every night.

Dirk made a mental note. Clearly these folk were just going through the motions. He didn't have time now, and if he tried, Erik was sure to attempt to stop him which would delay the party further, but once he returned to Castle Blackpool, he would arrange for the entire town to be obliterated. None of this showed on his face however. He _could_ be subtle when the occasion demanded.

Castle had stopped to talk to their leader, pulling her aside for a few quick instructions before saying loud enough for the group to hear "Becket, could you see that Lexis gets home to my mother?"

"Of course. Are you sure we can't help in any other way?" Castle knew the patrol schedule as well as she did, and would know that they were heading back anyway. It had been a quiet ride and her people were a bit restless for action.

The tone indicated that she considered Castle more of a hindrance than a help in a crisis, but Castle waved off her help. "You can help me by getting Lexis safely home. And by keeping Princess Ariel safe. The mountain is no place for her."

"No." Erik turned his best princely grin on her. Better to keep the number of innocent bystanders in Dirk's coign of vantage to a minimum. "We'll do fine. It was good meeting you, Lexis. Ariel, go with this nice young woman."

"Dad." Lexis gave him a fake pout as she got down from his horse, but he took Erik's side.

"I need you to go home and check to make sure your grandmother hasn't gambled the family fortune away." Castle gave her a bright cheery grin.

Ariel pouted. "What about my flowers?"

"There will be flowers in the village. You saw how bad those cliffs were. You don't want to rip your dress, do you?" Marko smiled at her, hoping she'd take the bait.

Lexis made another face at Marko, and then said, "You'll like our village, Princess Ariel. You can sit still for a while and there will be hot drinks and a fire to warm yourself by." Obediently, she mounted behind Becket. Her time would come.

After a moment, Ariel nodded decisively. "Will there be a seamstress? I think I ripped my dress."

Becket swallowed her initial thought, and reassured her that someone could fix her dress. She gestured to her team to follow.

Dirk moved restlessly. "We should be moving on. We'll want to reach the summit by sunset." He had no desire to spend the night on the mountain, though he suspected that that was what Vector hoped for.

"I hate to say it, but Dirk's right. We should get moving again."

Castle turned the horse to the east and started trotting up the path and the others followed. Erik happened to glance back and watched the other group walk a few paces before dropping out of sight. Clever. Meeting Becket's troop just now meant that Dirk would not see the location of their village.

Dirk rode slightly apart from the rest of the group, and Erik couldn't help wondering if he was considering how to capture some of the ponmons to guard whatever he was currently trying to guard. Their rapacious nature would suit Prince Blackpool.

~~~~

Vector watched the meetings in the scrying pool with barely concealed glee.

Everything was going exactly according to plan. Dirk had met up with Erik and his vassal and they would all die together on the mountain. He would have his monocle back and would finally be free. He had mislead Prince Blackpool about the secret he had promised was hidden at the top of the mountain. A simple ruse to throw him into danger once again.

He might not be able to kill Dirk himself, but there was no reason he couldn't send the other man into harm's way, and no one had ever returned from the top of Skullcrusher Mountain. The wizard who had built his castle there was known for his nasty tricks and the whole mountain was studded with traps and the monsters created in his inhuman experiments.

Soon, he would be free of the restrictions that chafed so. He wondered if Dirk realized just how much he hated the Prince for what he had done, and the mockery he had suffered since. He had sworn revenge and this day he would achieve his goal.

~~~~

Ariel resented being left behind and didn't hesitate to say so, lengthily and frequently. Becket tried pacifying her and then ignoring her. When neither course of action worked, she sent Lexis over to ride pillion and mollify her. The girl had a good head on her shoulder and Becket didn't need to worry over what she might pick up from the princess.

Lexis was bored. Bad enough to be left out of the action, but to be stuck with this princess who was less mature than either her father or grandmother was even worse. If anyone ever heard she'd ridden a unicorn she'd be so embarrassed. After a while, she resigned herself to the task and started feeding Ariel lines just to see what she would say. It was no different than helping her grandmother study for a play.

"That's a lovely dress you have on." This gave her a good twenty minutes of chatter about where the princess had got the lace and how white set off her collection and who had made the dress and how she adored lace almost as much as leather. Lexis just tuned her out and started considering how to escape Becket's eagle eye and get up the mountain to help her father.

When Ariel started to run out of things to say about her dress, Lexis moved on to her shoes and then her hairstyle. The last bore unexpected fruit.

"Oh, my maid is a wonder with hair, don't you think? Still it would have been better if I'd been able to go with Erik and pick flowers. Isn't he a meanie to leave us here? I've got half a mind to go up the mountain myself. Who ever got hurt picking flowers?" Ariel reined in her unicorn and turned back to look at Lexis. "Why don't we just run up and pick flowers ourselves? No one will notice."

This was a plan Lexis could agree on, and even if Ariel was a dimwit, she was also an adult, so she could claim that she was under adult supervision the entire time. "I know a short cut." She'd found the wizard's journal with copious notes about the defense of the mountain a few years before and had never told anyone, except her father, who, judging from his earlier behavior, didn't even remember that she had it. "We need to stay with the others for another ten minutes. I'll let you know when. Until then, we should pretend to be chattering the way we were, so they don't suspect a thing."

~~~~

The company rode steadily up the mountain, Castle keeping up a continual light chatter, Dirk staying as far away from the conversation as possible - could it be that he found it tedious? Marko thought, or was it just that he felt that the other man was too far below him in station.

They reached a narrow cleft surrounded by two high walls. "We must walk from here," Castle said.

Marko said some final words to the horses and they set off on foot, with Erik periodically turning back to cast a wary eye on Dirk.

"Are you afraid I'm going to stab you in the back?" Dirk asked sardonically.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you stabbed me in the front, Dirk," Marko replied dryly. "But you must admit that having you in front, testing the footing and the safety of the ledges has its appeal."

Erik's lips twitched, but he said nothing. Admittedly, if Dirk did fall, they'd be obliged to try to rescue him. That was part of being one of the good guys. But the mental image of Dirk falling into the depths of the mountain was rather pleasing.

Dirk merely glared and stalked off. He had no intention of falling anywhere. However, he did step a little warier for a little while.

The path continued to wind up the mountain. In places there was barely enough room for a single man and they walked carefully, hugging the mountain as they went. And then it wound inland, so to speak. The slope gentled, and the path widened. Eventually they reached a place where there were trees rather than cliffs on their right and a pleasant river glen on their left. Here, finally, between Marko's entreaties and Dirk's dark looks, Erik agreed to have an early dinner.

They could tell that the choice of venue did not agree with Dirk. Neither did the food. Carpaccia salad and cold tadmon pasties might be appropriate for taking Ariel on a picnic, but they did not suit Prince Blackpool. Erik suspected it was because he hadn't killed his own dinner. But that would have been dangerous - just look at the ponmons. And besides who knew what dangers a fire might awaken.

Dirk picked at his salad and finally excused himself to walk along the edge of the lake. The others watched him skipping stones, and eventually Erik joined him at the lake edge.

"Those two could turn anything into a competition," Marko told Castle as they finished up the leftovers. "See."

Indeed. Dirk and Erik were clearly competing to see who could make a stone skip the most times, though they hadn't said a word to each other.

"Six, seven."

"There, Prince Blackpool got eight."

"And Erik got nine." Marko was just about to suggest a wager, when the calm surface of the water was suddenly disrupted showering everyone with water. Wiping the water out of his eyes, Marko stared. Tentacles had erupted out of the water and both Dirk and Erik were struggling to get free.


	3. Act 3

Marko unsheathed his sword and jumped into the fray.

Swords flashed in the sunlight. Marko severed the tentacle holding Erik with one quick slash, and then moved to help Dirk, but another tentacle wrapped around his ankles and started dragging him into the lake. Erik stabbedat the tentacle with his dagger, while Castle moved around trying to find a clear shot. Every time he thought he had one, one of the three of them would suddenly shift into his line of fire. He didn't mind the thought of injuring Dirk, though that might be counterproductive in the long run, but he wanted to avoid hitting either of the other two.

Dirk's leather garb gave the tentacle little purchase and he used that to his advantage as he squirmed, trying to free his hands and reach his dagger or sword. Finally he managed to twist around and grab one of the daggers from his boots. Slashing at the tentacle, he sought to maneuver himself into a position where he could throw it at the great single eyed beast that had started to emerge from the lake. He didn't know if the poison on the dagger would do any good, but it was certainly worth a try.

Finally, Marko pried himself free of the tentacle, and he and Erik stood and studied the tableau. As one man they moved to slash at the tentacle that held Dirk, right near the edge of the water. It suddenly released him, dropping him to the ground, where he landed, cat-like. Both Erik and Marko threw themselves flat on the ground as Dirk and Castle fired at the same time, the former throwing the dagger, and the latter loosing a flaming arrow from his crossbow. Both hit the eye dead center and the beast screeched and receded back into the lake.

"Good eye," Marko said easily, not directing his comment at either of them in particular. Dirk took one of the cloths from the picnic set and wiped the monster's blood off of his armor and Erik and Marko followed suit.

Without much discussion or argument, the four of them packed up the picnic things (well, three of them, Dirk just supervised and made depreciating comments), and started up the trail again.

~~~~

Lexis tapped Ariel on the shoulder, and indicated a path barely visible between the trees and the cliff face. Ariel turned Pumpkin and they slipped away when no one was paying attention. Lexis was quite good at this sort of thing, though she usually chose to use her powers for good. As much as she liked her grandmother, her dad needed her if he wanted to get to the top of the mountain. She didn't give any thought to the dangers she might face, but she was worried about her father.

Becket was the first to notice that the two of them had disappeared. A movement in the corner of her eye, and she found herself automatically giving orders to her team to continue on to the village while she went after Lexis and Ariel.

The other two had barely got around the first bend when Becket caught up with them.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just drag you back down and let your grandmother deal with you." Not that Marta would do much more than smile at the escapade.

Lexis untied a bag from her belt, and drew out a small volume. "This. It shows a better path up the mountain and what you need to do to get past the traps. If we reach the top before they do, we might be able to keep them safe."

Becket smiled. "Good reason." She knew Lexis would come through for her, and she'd been very unhappy about being left behind. Previous events had proved that Castle wasn't very good in a fight and with Dirk around, there was certain to be one.

~~~~

The other party continued their trek up the mountain.

No conversation was possible, for here the path turned steep and narrow, with room for single file only. A few twists and turns and rough spots where they had to help each other up. Not Dirk, though, who spurned all help. Another turn and Eric was almost blinded by the brightness.

"That is not what I think it is." Marko leaned against one of the rocks, shielding his eyes against the glare.

Castle nodded. "Glass. There's a whole section of the mountain that the wizard who lived here turned to glass." And that section of the mountain stretched as far as the eye could see.

"We can't climb glass," Marko pointed out, wondering if they were going to need to get out the climbing gear.

"There's a path. You just need to watch your footing. It's rather slippery over here."

They followed him around a large rock and there was a path, just as he had said. The glass had clearly been deliberately scratched up and roughened to make for easier travel.

This did not make the trip easy. They had to be careful or they would be cut by the shards of glass that had once been plant leaves or chips of rock. The roughened glass was easier to walk on, but still slippery, and while their boots protected them from the worst of it, there were still sharp bits that left cuts in the leather, especially in the places where they had to climb over outcroppings. Before they'd gone far, they had all put on leather gloves.

The sun shone off the side of the mountain periodically blinding them as the path curved around the mountain. They could see the top now, when they were in the shadow, but first they had to get past the glass.

Another turn and Erik stopped for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the lack of glare. Peering up at the summit, he saw movement and froze. Rubbing his eyes, he looked again.

"That can't be-" Marko started.

"Lexis? How did she get up there?" Castle picked up the pace but the path here was almost completely smooth and his feet slid out from under him.

Erik reacted immediately, grasping Castle's arms, but the ground was too slippery to get any purchase. "Marko!" he yelled.

Dirk smiled at the tableau and moved past them carefully, making no move to help. "I think I can find my way from here." Especially if there were more victims up above them. He only needed one pure heart to claim the power he sought.

Marko ignored Dirk and grabbed for Erik, only to have his feet fly out from under him. Scrabbling for something to hold onto, he couldn't find anything and it looked as though Castle's weight would pull all three of them over the cliff.


	4. Act 4

Finally Marko managed to hook a leg over a rock. Swinging his other leg around he locked his ankles around each other, and slowly started to pull the other two back over the edge. "Got you."

"I think I've found a foothold," Castle said. "Got it."

"Slow and steady, Marko," Erik commanded, from his position bent over the edge of the cliff.

Marko did as he asked. "I don't think these outfits will ever be the same." He could not see what was happening from his vantage point until Castle managed to swing a leg over the top of the cliff and Erik grabbed it, rose to a kneeling position and slowly dragged the other man back onto the ledge.

"Anybody hurt?" Erik asked, inspecting his tunic which only had a few rents in it. At least his undershirt was mostly intact.

"Just scratches and scrapes," Castle said, "but we don't have time for this. Lexis is in danger. I don't know how she got up there."

"I thought I saw a unicorn," Erik admitted. "Though what one would be doing around here...."

"I've never seen a unicorn on the mountain," Castle replied. "They avoid it."

"It can't be Ariel. We left her with Becket," Erik said.

"She did want to pick flowers." Marko gave Erik a worried glance. "You know what she's like. And a unicorn would be able to climb the mountain easily. Climb like goats, they do. We'd best get going. Just in case. We don't want Dirk to beat us to them."

"Certainly not," said Castle as he tried sliding on the glass instead of walking. This was successful, so he continued along this way.

The others quickly picked up this means of moving. And to their surprise, they only had to maneuver around two more curves before the ground abruptly turned back to grass and dirt. This meant that they were able to pick up the pace, but Dirk had twenty minutes or so on them.

~~~~

Meanwhile Ariel reined in her unicorn and allowed Lexis to get down. The path to the top had presented none of the dangers that the others had faced.

Becket dismounted her horse and she and the unicorn glared at each other. At least the unicorn seemed to like Lexis more than it liked Ariel.

"I don't see them." Lexis said, peering down the side. The top of the mountain looked like it had been cut off sharply, leaving an uneven plain of about a square mile, that looked vaguely like an inkblot. There were a few low rises - one hid the path they had come up, and the ruins of a castle, ivy covered and open to the elements as though the building had been completely destroyed many years ago.

"Lexis wait. Come back from the edge." This despite the fact that the girl had left an appropriate distance between herself and the edge. "If you fall, you might wreck your dress."

Becket made a face at Lexis behind the Princess' back. Lexis might be wearing a dress, but it was a practical one of wool. Ariel's dress was more likely to be damaged by anything they might encounter up here.

Lexis seemed to agree, though she hadn't said anything. Normally she was an overly obedient girl, but she had clearly decided that Ariel's commands didn't count unless they fitted with her own plans.

"So where are the flowers?" Ariel's petulant voice broke through Becket's reverie.

That brought Lexis back from the edge. She dug the map out of her pocket and then studied the ruins. "They should be on the other side of that wall." She gestured at the tallest wall still standing - barely her height at its highest point, low enough to step over at its lowest, curving in a way that indicated that it was clearly the remains of a tower.

"Thank you ladies. I'll manage from here." Prince Dirk Blackpool's voice cut through unexpectedly. "Except I'll need a little help from the little lady here." He strode over and picked up Lexis without so much as a by-your-leave.

Becket reached for her bow, but Dirk was holding the girl in such a way that she couldn't get a clear shot. She needn't have worried, though. She had taught Lexis self-defense herself.

The girl, under the guise of trying to wiggle free, managed a good kick to the top of Dirk's codpiece, and a few gouges to his neck, before coming down with her full weight on his foot.

Becket wouldn't have expected it to work, but she suspected that Dirk was not expecting her to fight back. He dropped her half in shock and before he could grab her again, she'd done the roll that Becket had taught her and was no longer where Dirk expected.

Dirk glared at the place she had been, before grabbing Princess Ariel instead.

To Becket's surprise, Ariel tried Lexis' strategy of fighting back, but her kicks and scratches were less effectual. Dirk had no problem slinging her over his shoulder and striding around the tower wall towards the far side. For some reason he made no effort to step over the low ruins, though it would have been a faster route. Becket wondered why until she tried to do so herself and was violently thrown back landing on the ground, winded and stunned.

She came to, to the sight of Lexis trying to rouse her. "How long was I out?" She suddenly remembered how Dirk had seemed to disappear as he rounded the tower and cursed her own lack of observation. Clearly the ruin was just an illusion.

"Just a second. You shouldn't have tried that. The tower is protected by magic." Lexis pointed out.

Becket cursed silently. She should have realized. "So how do we get in?"

"The spell can be broken by spilling the blood of someone with a pure heart." Lexis smirked. "Ariel might not have much in the way of brains, but she does have a pure heart or she wouldn't be able to ride the unicorn."

By this time, Becket had recovered enough to stand, and was already striding towards the far side of the tower. There was no point in telling Lexis to stay put, she was too much like her father in that regard. "Stay out of sight, and out of the line of fire. Prince Blackpool..." she broke off, trying to protect the girl.

But Lexis finished the sentence. "He won't just take a drop of blood; he's the sort that would drain her dry for the fun of it." Living with the rebels, she knew all too well what Dirk was capable of.

As they rounded the tower, Becket sighted Dirk in the doorway using his knife on Ariel's arm. Ariel caught sight of her before Dirk did, and came down hard on his boot with her impractically high heel, then ducked, giving Becket a change to loose an arrow. She was close enough that it pierced Dirk's leather armor, causing him to drop the bleeding Ariel. Another arrow was already notched and ready to fly, so he chose discretion over valor, throwing the princess carelessly off to the side and pushing open the wooden door, still standing despite all evidence of destruction.

Lexis ran over and tugged a bag from her belt. She quickly wrapped a bandage over the cuts on Ariel's arm.

"It's about time you got here. Can you believe-?" Ariel ran on a bit about Dirk's perfidy, but the other two ignored her.

"Daddy." Lexis threw herself at him.

As the three of them watched, Erik, Marko and Castle slowly made their way up onto the plateau.

"And what are you doing up here? I told you to stay down in the village." Castle hugged his daughter anyway before turning to Becket. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her."

"Erik, Dirk Blackpool tried to kill me horribly. Look at my arm and my dress. Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of lace?" Ariel pounced, the moment she spotted the prince. "And I thought you said there were flowers up here." She gestured around. There were some grasses and ivy but mostly dirt and rocks and fallen buildings.

"I think the flowers are inside the wizard's workshop," Erik replied. "But you need to stay out here. It's not safe in there."

The words were futile. The whole group followed Erik through the door. The interior didn't match the ruins at all, but was clearly a wizard's workshop. There were plants growing out of the cracks in the floor, in strange bright colors. Dirk already had a small pot with a weird looking scarlet flower in his hands, but could not resist the urge to gloat. "Looks like I got the flower. Have fun watching your people die. I'll see about your village soon, Castle." There was a bright flash as he teleported away.

Suddenly a burst of laughter cut through the room. Lexis was standing doubled over, helpless with laughter.

"What's so funny," Erik burst out. "Dirk's won."

"No, he hasn't," Lexis managed through her giggles.

Marko suddenly chortled. "That wasn't a pimpernel, Erik, that was an orchid. The pimpernel must still be here."

"Where?" Erik asked as he started scanning the room. With a gesture, he indicated that they should spread out and look for the flower. "Wait. What does a pimpernel look like?"

"Well, it's..." Marko started, before being interrupted by Lexis.

"Like this." Lexis picked up a stick and drew a picture in the dust on the table.

"Got it. Let's go." They spread out and started searching through the laboratory.

No one was having any luck as the rummaged through the broken vials and instruments and furniture.

"What's that?" asked Becket.

There was an odd crooning noise coming through an open door they hadn't noticed before, tucked away in a corner behind a cupboard. Erik drew his sword and slowly started through the open door, then stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Marko asked, deftly avoiding running into the Prince.

"Ariel found the flower garden," Erik replied dryly. "That's her humming. I knew I'd heard it before."

They walked through the door in single file, only to see a field of pimpernels as far as the eye could see, in every color of the rainbow, and a few strange ones that could only have been created by magic

"Look for the scarlet one." Erik instructed, his eyes already scanning the fields. This could take hours.

But the field of flowers were no match for Lexis' keen eyes. She crossed the garden (open to the sky but surrounded by a fence they hadn't seen when they walked around the tower), to look at the far side. "There's a pattern. Look."

She was right. It wasn't designed to be seen from the door, but once Marko moved into the room, he could see it. A dragon with a scarlet eye. A few strides and he had the pimpernel in his hand. "Got it. Let's get out of here."

~~~~~

"What do you mean, this isn't a pimpernel?" Dirk demanded of his wizard.

Vector smiled grimly. He hadn't expected Dirk to return, so he hadn't given any thought to this moment. "Is it my fault you can't recognize a pimpernel when you see one? Or an orchid?"

Dirk just glared at Vector and slammed the pot down on the table. Ignoring the servants who ran to clean it up, he stalked out of the room, his face a study of disgust.

The wizard retrieved the ruins of the flower. It would still have some power, even if it wasn't anywhere near as much as the pimpernel. And at the moment, he could use all the power he could get.

~~~~

The princess sulked about having to leave the rest of the flowers on the mountain, but as Erik had pointed out, it wasn't safe to have magical flowers about the place. Getting down the mountain was easier than climbing it. They followed the hidden path that Lexis had discovered in the wizard's book, and before they knew it they were back at the village, which turned out to be better described as a camp.

Ariel whined, but she was pacified with hot drinks and a bubble bath, conjured by the wizard, Percival, to distract her while the others talked in Castle's tent, having been persuaded to stay for dinner before the wizard sent them home.

"Dirk may return to seek revenge. You should be ready," Erik told Becket and Castle. "Though I see you can pick up and move as necessary."

Castle looked up from where he and Lexis were preparing dinner for the company. "It's unlikely the mountain will allow him to get this far on his own, and we have a wizard of our own to guard us. We'll be fine. Give my regards to Justin, and tell him I'm looking forward to our next game."


End file.
